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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28105788">Taming the Beast Within</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/avannawolfe/pseuds/avannawolfe'>avannawolfe</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, 半妖の夜叉姫 | Hanyou no Yashahime | Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon (Anime)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abduction, Adult Rin (InuYasha), Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Yakuza, Angst, Awkward Tension, Backstory, Blood and Injury, Business Trip, CEO, Character Death, Cigarettes, Drama, Drama &amp; Romance, Drunkenness, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Family Drama, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Enemies, Friends to Lovers, Grief/Mourning, Gun Violence, Implied Sexual Content, Kidnapping, Love Confessions, Making Love, Meet the Family, Minor Character Death, Modern Era, Moving In Together, Near Death Experiences, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Out of Character, Protective Sesshomaru (InuYasha), References to InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, Romance, Sexual Content, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Tokyo (City), Unresolved Sexual Tension, Violence, Yakuza</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:02:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>18,980</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28105788</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/avannawolfe/pseuds/avannawolfe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>(AU) Sesshomaru is the CEO of a prominent company that he inherits from his father. His beauty and alluring nature draw many to him, but his cold aloofness also drives people away. Except for one woman, Rin, who becomes his new personal assistant. Rin is sweet, kind, and gentle who brightens up the room with her smile. Sesshomaru thought she would quit within three days, but she stays. This intrigues him. He doesn't quite understand why Rin is so kind and warm to him---until he learns about her past, and she discovers his secret.</p><p>WARNING: 18+</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha, Inu no Taishou/Izayoi/Sesshoumaru's Mother, Miroku/Sango (InuYasha), Rin/Sesshoumaru (InuYasha)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>102</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The shirtless, silver-haired, Adonis-like man held a cigarette between his lips as he ignites the match to intake his bad habit. A puff of smoke escapes the corners of his mouth when he rests his forearms over the metal railing of the glass balcony.</p><p>The city lights glisten below just like stars would if they wouldn't hide. Colossal buildings of variant heights collide in a mixture of grey shadows and geometry, tiny vehicles rushed along tangled lines of streets creating twisted threads of light-- it all intertwines together in a magnificent mess of a dream.</p><p>A breathtaking, marvelous, almost frightening dream that made him feel like some fake, unlucky living being.</p><p>He drags slowly as to not let the cigarette burn out too quickly.</p><p>Glass doors slide open behind him, a fully nude woman emerges onto the balcony. This fair-skinned diva of light blue hair and blue eyes sways towards him, shifting all her body weight against his bareback, her breasts pressing against his muscular figure. </p><p>"Sesshomaru, darling," the woman named Touran spoke in a sultry voice.</p><p>She started purring. </p><p>"You can't seem to get enough, can you?" He inquired with a small smirk on the corner of his mouth.</p><p>"Never, my dear." She whispers in his ear.</p><p>Her hands were adventurous, feeling around his torso, caressing down his abdomen until she firmly palms the bulge she was looking for. She was trying to sneak her hand through the scanty cotton barrier that kept his private member tucked away.</p><p>His expression was cold and void of any emotion, almost a bit melancholy.</p><p>"Neither can I."</p><p>It happens every damn time. </p><p>This numbing ache in my very being won't subside.</p><p>Power? Money? Sex?</p><p>None of it matters</p><p>If I'm still so empty inside.</p><p>Soft kisses graze his shoulders as the woman kept purring.</p><p>"Why not return to bed with me and let me have my way with you this time?"</p><p>He could feel the lust in her eyes burning through the back of his skull.</p><p>"I think it's time for you to leave." He says coldly to her, taking in a puff.</p><p>She releases her hold on him, tip-toeing back slowly.</p><p>"What's the matter, Sesshomaru?" Touran sounded surprised that he was rejecting her so suddenly.</p><p>He lets a cloud of smoke out of his mouth.</p><p>"Your payment is on my desk."</p><p>The woman crosses her arms under her breasts, perking them up.</p><p>"So what, just like that? Is this how you want this to be?"</p><p>"I'm done with you, Touran. Go home." He spoke harshly.</p><p>Touran growls and storms off the balcony, forcing the door open and leaving it as she retrieved her clothes and throws her trench coat over her. She grabs the payment on his desk that was tucked in an envelope before she approached his bedroom door. </p><p>She pauses when she grabs the doorknob, turning to the balcony one more time in hopes Sesshomaru changed his mind and stops her.</p><p>He had made up his mind. Her services were no longer needed anymore.</p><p>"I thought we finally made a connection." She spoke under her breath, twisting the doorknob and walks out, slowly closing the door behind her.</p><p>Sesshomaru takes a long drag of his cigarette, retrohaling a large cloud. His golden eyes glistened under the lights below, they were cold and emotionless. </p><p>He exhales harshly, crushing the butt of the cigarette on the railing.</p><p>"Everyone leaves eventually, so I make sure no one gets too close."</p><p>He flicks the cigarette butt with his fingers, watching the dim embers fall to the streets below.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. New Beginning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A train slows to a stop at the station, full of drowsy and overworked passengers commuting to work, going about their day-to-day lives. One passenger, in particular, is in high spirits, thrilled for the new adventure that is ahead of them.</p><p>When the announcement of their arrival came over the intercom, the doors release and slide open, and the passengers proceed to line out one by one. A young woman emerges onto the platform with a brown satchel to her side. Her gentle brown eyes and black hair, shining its light brown highlights, reflect off the sunlight as she enters the open air. </p><p>She is fascinated by the massive scale of the buildings in the city, the scurrying of people among the streets, and various vehicles zooming by. She beams brightly as she brings her hand up to the tag that dangled around her neck. She lifts it delicately to glance over it again as it read:</p><p>Inuka Co<br/>
Interviewee<br/>
12:00 PM</p><p>This woman is heading to one of the biggest companies residing in Shinjuku, Tokyo. She felt certain this would be her moment. Filled with confidence that she would be offered a position in this highly respected company--not fully aware of what she was about to get herself into as she walks among the crowd of people into the streets.</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>A black car arrives and parks by the street in front of a business building in the middle of the city, with large golden letters INUKA CO shown above the entrance doors. The back door of the vehicle swings open and a black leather shoe steps onto the cement sidewalk. Emerging from the car was a tall man dressed in an all-black business suit with long silver hair, pointed ears, and wearing dark-shaded sunglasses, making his way to the entrance of the building.</p><p>The automatic doors of the building slide open and the people inside who were working and walking around stop to observe the man entering the building, he removes his sunglasses, revealing his golden-yellow eyes.</p><p>"Good morning, Mr. Taisho!"</p><p>The people greet him, bending their waists to bow in his direction as he walks by them, though he dismisses them with coldness. He halts in front of an elevator and presses the button to cause its descend. He could hear a screeching noise in the distance, rapidly approaching behind him. </p><p>Waddling up to him was his Executive Assistant, Jaken, a short bald man with buggy eyes and thick-rimmed eyeglasses.</p><p>"Sesshomaru, sir! I have your schedule for the upcoming week!" The little man exclaims adjusting his glasses standing beside his immaculate boss, "I also have the graphs for the upcoming meeting that's on Friday if you would like to look over them."</p><p>Sesshomaru crosses his arms and avoids eye contact with the little man.</p><p>"And why are you bringing this to me now? Shouldn't this be something you could have relayed to Yura?" He asks harshly when the elevator doors slide open with a ding. Sesshomaru steps inside as Jaken nervously steps in the elevator with him.</p><p>Jaken was hesitant to push the button that would close the doors and have the metal box take them to their desired floor, but he gulps the knot in his throat and presses the button causing the doors to shut them in. The elevator smoothly starts lifting them.</p><p>"Well, you see, Sesshomaru, sir... Yura turned in her resignation late last Friday, and she requested it to be effective immediately."</p><p>"Is that so?" Sesshomaru spoke with indifference.</p><p>"I'm afraid so, sir." Jaken replies, lowering his head.</p><p>"That's unfortunate."</p><p>"But fret not! I have already called in an interview for her replacement to come in, and they should be coming in today, sir."</p><p>Sesshomaru shifts his eyes above the metal doors, watching the floor numbers increases as they ascend higher. </p><p>He sighs suddenly.</p><p>"Why bother with having a Personal Assistant if they're just going to leave within a few weeks?"</p><p>"Well... it would help if you would stop sleeping with the female assistants you hire, sir..." Jaken whispers under his breath, knowing way too much of his boss' habits and tendencies.</p><p>In an impulsive motion, Sesshomaru swings his fist on top of Jaken's head, causing the little man to topple over, and a massive lump swells on the top of his bald head.</p><p>"Try keeping your thoughts to yourself next time, Jaken."</p><p>Jaken's eyes whirl with dizziness and his speech was slurred.</p><p>"Yes, sir. My apologies."</p><p>Sesshomaru was heading to his office on the top floor of the building, which had 36 floors. The elevator was shortly passing the </p><p>33rd</p><p>34th</p><p>35th.</p><p>The elevator dings when it arrives on the 36th floor. The doors slide open revealing the large open foyer to Sesshomaru's office. As Sesshomaru drops his head to look forward, something, or rather someone, captures his attention before he could even step off the elevator.</p><p>A young woman was sitting on the small, white couch that was placed by his office door. She glances up and notices the two men in the elevator, and she promptly rises to her feet. She gives them a radiant smile and starts walking towards them.</p><p>Sesshomaru was captivated by this young woman and became very curious about her. Something about her smile broke through to him, causing his cold exterior to soften.</p><p>Her appearance was petite and delicate, with soft pale skin, brown eyes, and black hair that fluffed out like a Christmas tree. She was wearing a soft pink sweater with a U-shaped neck and quarter sleeves, and a deep, garnet-colored skirt with its length stopping just above her knees.</p><p>"Oh, she must be here already!" Jaken exclaims looking through the papers he held in his hands, "I believe her first name was... Rin."</p><p>Sesshomaru blinks slowly before returning to his cold expression. Rin approaches them and bends her waist into a bow to them.</p><p>"It's very nice to meet you, sir. I am here for my interview with you."</p><p>Jaken bows in response but Sesshomaru stood upright and proceeds to walk by her.</p><p>"Let's get this over with." He spoke.</p><p>Rin rises from her bow and blinks her eyes in confusion, slowly starting to walk behind Sesshomaru towards his office. He opens the door to let the young woman in first, then he follows behind, closing the door behind him. </p><p>Jaken sighs harshly standing in front of the closed elevator doors with sadness washing over his face.</p><p>"She isn't going to last very long either is she?" He uttered with disappointment, "and I like the smile on her, too."</p><p>The inside of Sesshomaru's office was much larger than it appeared, about as spacious as the foyer outside. Three white walls with golden accent trimmings surrounded them, the fourth "wall" consisted of the large panels of high rise windows looking out into the metro scenery below. In the middle of the office was a large, dark mahogany administrative desk that was handcrafted with a design of the inugami engraved onto the wood. </p><p>Sesshomaru offers Rin the white swivel armchair that was in front of his desk, and she happily accepts it. He takes off his suit jacket and hangs it on the coat rack near the shelf behind his desk. He sits down in his black leather office chair that was in a classical pattern and material. Adjusting his tie, he scans over the woman's resume Jaken handed to him:</p><p>Rin Hashimoto<br/>
21 years old<br/>
University Graduate<br/>
Bachelor's in Business Administration</p><p>He shifts his eyes over the paper to look over her as he places the resume down on his desk.</p><p>"So, are you aware of who I am?" He asks, beginning his series of questions.</p><p>She smiles with her hands folded in her lap.</p><p>"Of course. You are Sesshomaru Taisho, the new CEO of Inuka Co, a prestigious financial company that was founded by your father, Toga Taisho."</p><p>Sesshomaru appeared amused.</p><p>"So you have done some of your research, Miss Hashimoto. Good for you."</p><p>He props his elbows onto the desk, folding his hands on top of each other and rests his chin on top of his hands, gazing at the woman with his golden stare. </p><p>"So tell me, what makes you qualified to be a Personal Assistant?"</p><p>Rin pauses for a moment to collect her thoughts.</p><p>"I'm well organized and detailed oriented. I am excellent in bookkeeping and can make dedicated runs for you."</p><p>Sesshomaru smirks.</p><p>"As you should be. But what makes you special to be my PA?"</p><p>Rin blinks slowly, thinking over the question.</p><p>"What makes me... special?"</p><p>Sesshomaru nods, waiting for her answer.</p><p>She sits there, bringing a finger to her chin as she ponders on it.</p><p>"Well, I'm pretty optimistic so I can uplift your mood, and I can make things more lively here for you daily."</p><p>"Uplifting and lively, huh? And what makes you think my life isn't already lively and uplifting?" He removes his elbows off his desk and crosses his arms over his chest.</p><p>She was cautious to answer, but she felt that she shouldn't lie to him either.</p><p>"Not to be rude, sir, but... your decor, for example, isn't very lively or uplifting." She glances around what she felt was a minimalistic-looking office.</p><p>Sesshomaru laughs.</p><p>"Well, I like my office the way it is."</p><p>She chuckles softly, you could hear the nervousness in her voice, but she continues to smiles.</p><p>"It could use a woman's touch."</p><p>Sesshomaru blinks slowly at her then a smirk appears on his face.</p><p>"A woman's touch."</p><p>He leans back into his chair and shuts his eyes for a moment, evaluating what to do with this woman. He felt there wasn't anything too outstanding about her but decided to test her determination.</p><p>"I don't think you have what it takes."</p><p>She was stunned.</p><p>Now she was beginning to doubt herself, but she wasn't going to give up--not now, not to anyone, especially to someone as powerful as the CEO of Inuka Co.</p><p>"You're wrong, sir." She spoke confidently.</p><p>Sesshomaru perks up, opening his eyes to look at her.</p><p>"Oh, so you think that highly of yourself?"</p><p>"No, sir. I just know I am fully capable to work for such a respectable company, and I wish to contribute to the company in whatever way I can." Rin made soft fists on her knees.</p><p>Sesshomaru lifts his chin to the ceiling and stares, pondering at her words. Now he's made up his mind.</p><p>"Very well. When will you be able to start?"</p><p>She gives him a perplexed look.</p><p>"Pardon?"</p><p>He drops his chin and shifts his eyes to stare into hers.</p><p>"When can you start working?"</p><p>She was taken by his implication but didn't hesitate again to answer.</p><p>"As soon as possible, sir."</p><p>He nods.</p><p>"Then you can come in and start tomorrow."</p><p>She tries so hard to keep in her excitement, the sparkle in her eyes was so noticeable that there was no way she could have hid them. She stands to her feet and bows to Sesshomaru.</p><p>"Thank you so much for the opportunity, sir."</p><p>"Be here first thing tomorrow morning, Miss Hashimoto." Sesshomaru turns his chair around, facing the windows.</p><p>She nods in agreement, thanking him again. He waves his hand to permit her to leave and she walks towards the door and walks out of his office. She leans quietly against the other side of the door, showing a huge grin that stretched from ear to ear. She happily walks to the elevator door to return down to the lobby, lifting an excited fist into the air as the elevator doors close her in.</p><p>In his office, Sesshomaru stands to his feet and walks towards the window, looking down into the city. He reaches into his pocket pulling out a pack of cigarettes, removing one and places it in between his lips while searching for his lighter in his pockets. He feels his mobile vibrate in his back pocket and pulls it out to check--a new text message from his mother. He sighs harshly and taps on the screen to open the message, it read:</p><p>Son,<br/>
Call me immediately regarding your father.<br/>
Love, Mother.</p><p>He pauses and allows the screen to fade to black, returning the mobile to his back pocket. He finally retrieves his lighter, igniting the cigarette that was waiting and calling for him. He unlocks and pushes a window open, blowing out the smoke from his mouth towards the window. He figured delaying the wrath of his mother would be sufficient for him in the moment since he was now purposely ignoring her. He just didn't want to address the family dilemma. Dreading what was coming to the Taisho family.</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>Down in the city, Rin was briskly walking down the street when she approaches the entrance to the Kyushu Hotel. She smiles and waves to the old doorman standing outside when she walks by him to enter the hotel.</p><p>"Good afternoon." She greets him.</p><p>He smiles and gently returns her wave.</p><p>"Good afternoon, Miss Hashimoto. Welcome back."</p><p>She makes her way through the crowded lobby to find the nearest elevator to take her to the 3rd floor. When the elevator doors open she steps inside and presses the button to close the doors soon after. </p><p>She arrives on the 3rd floor and walks down the hallway towards room number 315. She looks through her bag to find the room card key. She pulls it out and inserts it into the device on the door to change the light on the device from red to green. Once it turned green, she turns the door handle and pushes the door open. </p><p>Upon entering the room, it was evident that it had been lived in for a little while. She had been living here in this hotel room for the last two weeks looking for work, and either a place to rent, or to find a roommate.</p><p>She sets her satchel on the small desk and settles at the foot of the Queen-size bed, kicking off her shoes at the heels, and wiggles them off to the side of the bed. She lays her back on the bed, her arms spread out to the side, the palms of her hands facing up.</p><p>She looks up to the ceiling, letting out a sigh of relief. She had finally found a job, a well-paying job at that with the most respectable company around that will also look good on her resume to have on it.</p><p>She hears a muffled beeping coming from her bag, she rises realizing it was her mobile letting her know that she had a new message. She gets up and walks to her bag, moving things around in the bag to find her mobile. She grabs and pulls the mobile out once she found it and illuminates the screen to see who the sender was--- it was her grandmother, Kaede. Rin taps on the message as it read:</p><p>Let me know how your interview went today once you're available. I am so proud of you.<br/>
-Kaede</p><p>A smile comes to her face as she holds the mobile to her chest.</p><p>"I'll call you here shortly, Granny Kaede."</p><p>She sets the mobile down on the desk and walks up to the window, pulling opening the curtains, and sits on the window seat to look out and see the scenery of the buildings that stretched out for miles. In the distance, she could see the tall building with the letters INUKA CO on the side of it. She has a job there now, and appreciated the fact that her boss was pleasant on the eyes.</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>After hours at Inuka Co, Jaken quietly walks into Sesshomaru's office and stands in front of his desk, twirling his fingers around in anticipation.</p><p>"Well? What did you think of the young woman from the interview today, Sesshomaru?" Jaken asks curiously. </p><p>Sesshomaru stood by the window, taking a long drag of his cigarette and slowly lets the smoke escape out of his mouth.</p><p>"She starts tomorrow, but I don't expect her to last the next three days."</p><p>"I see..." Jaken replied, sounding a bit disappointed.</p><p>"However, she has intrigued me." Sesshomaru adds with a smirk, flicking the half-burned cigarette out the window.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. First Day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rin was holding a cardboard box of some belongings for the desk that she'll be assigned on her first day at Inuka Co. She stood wearing a white button-down blouse with ruffles draping down the front, a black high-waisted pencil skirt with grey thin vertical stripes, black tights, and black four-inch heels. She taps the sides of the box with her fingertips and lifts a smile on her face, walking towards the doors that slide open.</p><p>People working and walking around inside look in her direction and stare. Rin walks by them and smiles, greeting everyone she passes. They confusingly return their awkward smiles at her. They were not use to seeing a PA be someone so pleasant and warm to people around her. Some were hopeful she might last, but most had their doubts that she wouldn't stay long, as was expected.</p><p>Rin walks up to the elevator, shifting the box to her side to press the button to open the doors. They slide open suddenly which startles her for a moment. She composes herself quickly and enters the metal box, reaching for the button to close the doors. Hovering her finger just centimeters away from the button, she hears shouting in the distance. She looks up to see a man sprinting towards the elevator, screeching for the doors to remain open. Rin moves to the side as he quickly approached the doors and she watches him trip over his footing, falling face-first into the elevator floor. The doors close behind him.</p><p>"Are you okay?" She asks with concern. She places the box down on the floor and kneels to check on him.</p><p>"I'll be fine." The man groans sitting up with a red mark pressed on his forehead. He pulls off his thick-rimmed eyeglasses to see if he had broken them, luckily not a scratch.</p><p>Rin then immediately recognizes the small man.</p><p>"You were the man with Mr. Taisho yesterday, correct?"</p><p>He rises to his feet, brushing off his clothes from the fall.</p><p>"You'd be correct. I'm the Executive Assistant, Jaken Tenma."</p><p>"Tenma?" She pondered, thinking how strange that name was to her. </p><p>She pushes herself up to her feet and picks up her box from the floor. Jaken presses the button to the top floor and clears his throat.</p><p>"Now, Miss Hashimoto, I'd like to go over some company policies with you just in case Sesshomaru neglects to do so with you."</p><p>Rin blinks slowly and nods as she listens to Jaken informing her of said policies and procedures to follow on their ride up through the floors.</p><p>The blue lit numbers were climbing steadily higher until the door finally dings reaching their destination. The doors slide open and Jaken continues speaking to her about procedures as they both step out. She continues to be attentive to him by nodding and acknowledging that she was still listening.</p><p>"This is where your office space will be, Miss Hashimoto." Jaken points to the right of the foyer.</p><p>He leads Rin to a room with clear glass partition walls. Inside was a standard desk and office chair, an empty bookshelf, a tall filing cabinet, and two high-rise windows showing the roofs of the buildings next door.</p><p>Rin sets her box on the desk, observing the room and the view out the window.</p><p>"Any questions for me before I leave you to unpack?" Jaken asks.</p><p>Rin was curious about something that came to her attention regarding Sesshomaru. Something she noticed in his lack of decor when she was in his office yesterday--he had no pictures of anyone. Not of family, any pets, not even a portrait of himself. Nothing that personalized his office space.</p><p>"Mr. Taisho isn't much of a family man is he?"</p><p>Jaken arches his brow at the off-topic question.</p><p>"He likes to keep his personal life private."</p><p>Jaken was walking away but he stops at the doorway.</p><p>"Sesshomaru will remove anyone who pries too deeply. So be mindful of that and don't get too personal with him."</p><p>Rin nods in agreement, thanking Jaken for the advice as he leaves her. She understood the need for privacy, especially about family. After all, she had things that she wanted to keep to herself as well, everyone deserves their privacy.</p><p>She pulls out the final content of her box by placing a picture frame of her grandmother and herself from when Rin graduated university on her desk. She shifts the frame to have it balance on itself properly. She looks around the office, taking in the fact that this was now her office. She pierces through the glass wall and sees that Sesshomaru's office was just a short distance away.</p><p>She wondered if he was in his office since she did come in early today. She grabs her purse and looks for something inside, smiling when she finds it.</p><p>"I'll just leave this on his desk then." She says to herself.</p><p>She breaths in slowly and walks out of her office, her heels clanking on the floor with each step as she heads towards Sesshomaru's office. She tucks one hand behind her holding something and reaches for the door handle with the other. However, before she could grasp it, the door suddenly swings open. And there stood Sesshomaru on the other side, in a navy button down shirt with the long sleeves rolled up to his elbows and black pants.</p><p>"You'll do." Sesshomaru spoke suddenly in an satisfied tone.</p><p>Rin stood frozen. She wasn't sure of what to say or what he meant.</p><p>Sesshomaru closes the gap between them, towering over the petite woman. Rin looks up at him nervously, staring into his golden glare. He lifts his hand to give her a yellow folder with papers inside. She glances down at the folder and willingly takes it from his hand.</p><p>"I need copies made of these graphs in the folder. You'll have to go to the printers down on the tenth floor since the one up here is needing to be replaced. Bring those copies back to me stat, Miss Hashimoto."</p><p>Rin nods and turns around on her heels, walking towards the elevator. Sesshomaru watches her intently as she walks away, observing her figure from behind. Sesshomaru closes the door back and walks to his desk.</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>While sitting inside his office alone for a while, Sesshomaru hears the ringer on his mobile go off--the name of his younger brother appears on the screen. Sesshomaru picks up the mobile and answers the call with agitation.</p><p>"I don't have time to deal with you right now, Inuyasha."</p><p>A growl from his brother could be heard on the other end of the mobile.</p><p>"What the hell are you doing? You need to come home. Everyone else is here but you!"</p><p>Sesshomaru rubs the side of his temple with his fingers. He was not up for his brother's antics today.</p><p>"I'm a busy man. Someone has to make sure things run smoothly here at the company."</p><p>"To hell with that shithole!" Inuyasha shouts with anger.</p><p>Sesshomaru furrows his eyes at his brother's tone.</p><p>"Watch how you speak towards me, half-blood."</p><p>"Yeah whatever, insult me all you want. Father is dying and you don't seem to care, Sesshomaru!"</p><p>Sesshomaru growls out of frustration. </p><p>"Father can die within the next hour for all I care." He spat harshly.</p><p>Sesshomaru ends the call abruptly, dropping the mobile on his desk. </p><p>He forces out a breath and glides his fingers through his hair, brushing his bangs to the top of his head. He plants his elbows on his knees and presses his forehead against the surface of his desk. He didn't mean what he said. He's angry that his father wasn't recovering and was gradually getting worse.</p><p>Sesshomaru hears a knock on his door--it was Jaken who suddenly swings the door open.</p><p>"Sesshomaru, sir. I have something from--"</p><p>Sesshomaru lifts his head slightly in a tilted angle, glaring up towards Jaken through his brows, showing the narrowed vertical pupils in his burning golden eyes.</p><p>Jaken gulps feeling the negativity emitting off of Sesshomaru that was quickly filling the room.</p><p>"Ummm... I'll just come back and tell you later..." Jaken says nervously, closing the door back slowly.</p><p>Sesshomaru leans back into the chair and stands to his feet. He walks to the window and cracks it open. He lights a cigarette and takes in a long drag, slowly blowing out a cloud of smoke.</p><p>"That's a bad habit to have." A woman's voice spoke.</p><p>Sesshomaru shifts to the side to see that Rin had returned, standing at the door and pulls the door closed behind her. She held a stack of freshly printed papers.</p><p>Sesshomaru smirks.</p><p>"Yeah well, bad habits are hard to quit." </p><p>Rin places the stack of papers on his desk neatly. He shifts his eyes up and down her with his lit cigarette resting in between his fingers. He was tracing her figure with his eyes.</p><p>Rin's cheeks turn pink when she notices his glance.</p><p>"Is something wrong?" She asks softly.</p><p>He looks away and stares out the window.</p><p>"You're pleasant on the eyes." He says as a large puff escapes his lips.</p><p>Rin blushes at his comment.</p><p>"I'm just a regular girl from the country, sir."</p><p>"I figured as much because of your accent. I find it cute." He says, flicking his cigarette out the window.</p><p>Rin thanks him, sounding a bit uncertain of his intentions.</p><p>Sesshomaru turns to her with a blank stare and gives her a task to get him a coffee and explains how he wanted it prepared. She listens and complies without hesitation, and leaves his office.</p><p>Rin stood still for a moment and leans her back against the other side of the closed door. She touches the warmth of her cheeks that were quickly turning red the longer she thought of what he said to her. She shakes her head, snapping out of whatever other thought came to her and briskly walks back towards the elevator, hearing the clanking of her heels on the floor.</p><p>When Rin left, Sesshomaru looks down at the stack of papers and he notices something on top of them. It was a wrapped gift in light pink paper with white dots. His name was written on a note attached to the gift--he figured this came from Rin with how bubbly his name was written. He picks it up curiously and removes the note and wrapping paper to uncover the small black box.</p><p>He opens it and widens his eyes with surprise. He reaches into the box and pulls out a gold, railroad pocket watch on a gold chain.</p><p>"How was she able to afford this?" He pondered looking over the watch. </p><p>He saw that it was an older pocket watch, but still saw its value. He clutches the watch into the palm of his hand and tucks it away into his back pocket.</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>Rin waits patiently in a line at the cafe inside the building. While she stood there tapping her toes, she encounters Jaken again. He cuts into the line to stand next to the young woman.</p><p>"How are things going so far today, Miss Hashimoto?" Jaken asks her curiously.</p><p>"I think things are going well." She says with a smile.</p><p>Jaken was amused by her enthusiasm.</p><p>"In all honesty, I'm surprised Mr. Taisho hired you."</p><p>Rin shows a confused look on her face.</p><p>"Don't take this the wrong way, but he usually just hires really attractive women to be his PAs. But you're still pretty cute to look at."</p><p>Rin didn't see this as much of a compliment as Jaken thought it was. </p><p>"Shouldn't someone be hired based on their qualifications, not on appearance?"</p><p>Jaken starts laughing hysterically, and two other women chuckle behind him. Rin's face turns red, she was becoming embarrassed.</p><p>"Hey look, I agree with you."</p><p>Jaken pauses for a moment to scratch the top of his hairless scalp.</p><p>"It's just that Sesshomaru tends to be, well... 'promiscuous' with his PAs so he would always at least hire attractive ones."</p><p>Rin didn't like hearing this.</p><p>"But you seem different. I think he genuinely likes you, he just has a weird way of showing it because that's just the kind of person he is." Jaken assures her.</p><p>"He likes me?" Rin blushes at the thought.</p><p>"In the professional sense." Jaken elaborated.</p><p>Rin shakes her hands defensively. </p><p>"Oh of course, strictly professional."</p><p>Jaken chuckles as he starts walking away.</p><p>"I wanted to wish you good luck because most of his PAs don't last the full week."</p><p>Rin could see why that would be the case.</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>Sesshomaru was sitting in his office chair going through some other paperwork when his mobile starts ringing again, but the name "LECHER" appears on the screen.</p><p>"Great. What does he want?"</p><p>Sesshomaru groans picking up the mobile and answers the call. Sesshomaru lifts it to his ear and greets the Lecher with a monotone voice.</p><p>"Hey man! Wanna go out to get some drinks tonight?" The man named Miroku asks with a hiccup.</p><p>Sesshomaru squints his eyes with annoyance.</p><p>"Sounds like you've already started."</p><p>Miroku laughs loudly.</p><p>"Nah, I'm just a little buzzed. I need to be a little bit sober to set my charm on some pretty bitches so I can get some ass tonight."</p><p>Sesshomaru groans turning his chair towards the window.</p><p>"You'll never change."</p><p>Miroku chuckles.</p><p>"Well anyway, I need to catch you up on some things I found out."</p><p>"Catch me up, huh?" Sesshomaru smirks.</p><p>Sesshomaru pauses for a moment before agreeing to meet up with Miroku after work, at their usual spot. He ends the call and lays the mobile on his lap as he stares out the window.</p><p>Moments later, Rin had returned and enters the office with Sesshomaru's coffee, placing it on the wooden coaster on his desk. He turns the chair around facing her, picks up the drink, and takes a sip.</p><p>"Thank you." Sesshomaru spoke to her.</p><p>"My pleasure, sir." Rin replies with a smile.</p><p>He stares at her with a blank expression for a moment, then turns his chair to face the window again. </p><p>"Where are you from?"</p><p>Rin was surprised by his question but was willing to answer.</p><p>"Osaka."</p><p>"So that explains your accent."</p><p>"Have you never heard someone use the Kansai dialect before?" She asks curiously.</p><p>"I have. Yours just sounds softer." He answers.</p><p>"I was raised here in Tokyo until I was 10. Then I had moved to Osaka." Rin elaborated. </p><p>Sesshomaru was quiet for a moment.</p><p>"I see... You can leave now."</p><p>"Yes, sir." Rin turns around and walks out the door.</p><p>Sesshomaru stands to his feet. He takes a slow sip of the coffee. He gives himself a surprised chuckle at how strange he was feeling when Rin was around. He barely knows the girl and he's suddenly starting to get flustered.</p><p>"What am I doing?" He says out loud to himself.</p><p>He walks towards the window and stands there, looking down at the scurrying of what looked liked ants in the streets below.</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>Five o'clock finally strikes; it's the end of the workday. Sesshomaru had his suit jacket swung over his shoulder as he exits the elevator. Rin was trailing behind him since they both left their offices at the same time and rode down the elevator together.</p><p>Rin turns to Sesshomaru with a smile and tells him that she'll be seeing him tomorrow. As she turned to walk away, Sesshomaru suddenly stops her by tapping her shoulder before she could walk out the front doors.</p><p>"Let me ask you something." He says firstly.</p><p>She looks at him with curiosity. </p><p>"Do you drink?" He asks her.</p><p>Rin raises her brows and was perplexed that he would ask her that.</p><p>"No." She answers, shaking her head.</p><p>"Alright, guess I'll be drinking alone this evening." He walks through the automatic doors. </p><p>Rin follows him to the sidewalk.</p><p>"You're going to be drinking on a Tuesday, sir?"</p><p>Sesshomaru glares at her.</p><p>"I drink whenever the hell I want to, Miss Hashimoto."</p><p>"Well, will you need a ride home?" She asks. He heard the gentleness in her voice.</p><p>Sesshomaru turns his back to her.</p><p>"I'll take a taxi home." </p><p>He walks down the street without saying another word to her.</p><p>Rin stood there for a while, watching Sesshomaru vanish into the crowd of people. Rin turns towards the road and waves down a taxi. One stops and idles beside her, she hops in, and they drive away heading back to the Kyushu Hotel.</p><p>Rin couldn't help but feel a bit of sadness for Sesshomaru. She couldn't see him as this man who was truly mean or aloof, she felt that was just his outer facade. She could see someone that deep down was just desolate and lonely.</p><p>"Do you have something that haunts you too, Sesshomaru?" She thought to herself as she watches the buildings pass by through the window, the nighttime lights were starting to illuminate the streets.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry this took so long to update lol working on the next chapter currently and will update again soon :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Underground</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sesshomaru walks casually down several blocks away until he approaches a dimly-lit alleyway. He turns in walking towards two, scrappy-looking men leaning against the brick walls of the buildings, both of them had tattoos of a wolf on their necks. They happen to be guarding the entryway, and the one named Hakkaku hides his hands in his pockets, stepping in front of Sesshomaru.</p><p>"Reveal your markings."</p><p>Sesshomaru extends his hand into his shirt pocket and pulls out a white handkerchief. He wipes off what seemed to be a soft substance in a pale color on his face, revealing the dark crescent moon on his forehead, a single magenta stripe on each of his eyelids, and double magenta stripes on his cheeks. Hakkaku and the other named Ginta, acknowledge the facial markings and allow Sesshomaru to walk on through. </p><p>Lit up by an orange incandescent light at the end of the alleyway, a sign hung over a door leading into a building--it held an engraved symbol of the Yamaguchi-Gumi.</p><p>Sesshomaru walks down farther into the alley and sees Miroku standing in front of the door with the sign. Known as the Lecher, he turns around and waves at Sesshomaru who was moving toward him.</p><p>"I called in a private room for us so we can let loose and have a little bit of fun." Miroku beamed ear to ear.</p><p>Sesshomaru was silent and walks past Miroku, stepping up to the door and pushes it open. The guard that stood on the other side was tall with long black hair that was tied back, bright blue eyes, and also had a tattoo of a wolf on his neck. The guard named Koga recognizes Sesshomaru and bends his waist to him.</p><p>"Welcome back to The Underground, the Perfect Assassin."</p><p>Sesshomaru dismisses him and walks on by. Miroku walks by Koga and waves at him with a grin, revealing the solid black circle in his palm. Koga rolls his eyes at the Lecher and closes the door behind them, and folds his arms across his chest, returning to his post.</p><p>Pulsating beams of red and blue lights dance on the walls and floor inside in waves. Dancers in elaborate costumes stood on their platforms, performing in front of the men and other women surrounding them. Some of the dancers swirl around on metal poles, while others sat and spun on rope hanging chairs.</p><p>A woman in a short, red velvet dress approaches Miroku near the dancefloor and guides him and Sesshomaru to their private room. She leads them down a red-lit hallway, unlocking and opening a door at the end.</p><p>"Enjoy yourselves, fellas." The woman stated with a wink, leaving them to the room where other women were sitting on red couches inside.</p><p>"Don't worry ladies, the Lecher is here." Miroku declares greeting the women.</p><p>Sesshomaru stood silently and indifferent.</p><p>A woman sitting on the couch in a black dress leans forward and grabs a bottle of clear liquor, pouring it into a shot glass. She smiles flirtatiously at the men, lifting the glass in her hand.</p><p>"Ready to have some fun, boys?"</p><p>"Boys? Darling, I'm going to show you how men like to have fun." Miroku grins, walking to the couch with the woman in black and other women sitting around her. He sits down and grabs the drink from her hand, pressing the rim of the glass to his lips, and tosses the liquid into his mouth.</p><p>Sesshomaru sits down and leans back on a separate section of the couch as a different woman in green offers him a shot. He takes it from her without question and tosses it back.</p><p>The occupants of the room had been drinking for a while, and Miroku had become the loudest out of them. He was allowing the women to fondle all over him in whatever way they pleased and he was enjoying the attention.</p><p>"This place always has the best and hottest babes!" Miroku slurs drunkenly with reddened cheeks as the woman in black mounts on top of him and two other women were cooing and purring in his ears.</p><p>Sesshomaru had a woman on each side of him, cooing and purring at him as well. He didn't have that much interest in the women with him, but he allowed them to have their way with him.</p><p>Miroku proceeds to explore the woman on his lap more eagerly, caressing on her body and kissing her on places he would have been slapped or punched for any other time, but the woman was clearly into him on this particular evening.</p><p>Sesshomaru collects himself enough to clear his throat.</p><p>"Enough playing around, Miroku. What information do you have for me?"</p><p>Miroku hums in the woman's ear as she grins from ear to ear. She climbs off of him, Miroku clapping her ass as she walked away. He clears his throat and leans forward, turning his head to Sesshomaru with a sudden shift of seriousness in his eyes.</p><p>"I have confirmation that there is a traitor."</p><p>Sesshomaru takes a shot of liquor, snickering with his flushed cheeks.</p><p>"There's always bound to be a traitor or two in a fucking crime syndicate."</p><p>Miroku rests his arms across his knees.</p><p>"My intel has also confirmed that they want to take you out, Sesshomaru."</p><p>Sesshomaru appeared unfazed.</p><p>"Are you not concerned?" Miroku inquires, noticing Sesshomaru's lack of a reaction even while drunk.</p><p>Sesshomaru swirls around what liquid remained in the glass he held in his hand.</p><p>"Who doesn't want to take out a member of the Taisho Clan? I have my father to thank for that... fucking old bastard."</p><p>Sesshomaru puts the glass down and reaches into his pocket to light himself a cigarette. The two women with him get up and leave the room.</p><p>"So, you're not worried someone wants you dead? Possibly to take over Inuka Co?"</p><p>"They wouldn't be the first," Sesshomaru utters taking in a drag.</p><p>Miroku furrows his brows together as he watches Sesshomaru blow out a cloud of smoke.</p><p>"And they won't be the last."</p><p>Miroku leans back against the couch.</p><p>"Well, I'd watch your ass if I were you, Sesshomaru. Especially with what else is going on regarding your clan."</p><p>Sesshomaru chuckles.</p><p>"You shouldn't be worrying about my business when you can barely cover your ass as it is, Lecher."</p><p>Miroku smirks.</p><p>"Oh come on now, give me some credit. I have to cover my ass with all the whores I deal with."</p><p>"That sounds like a personal problem since you can't stop chasing women." Sesshomaru combated.</p><p>"Hey, you're one to talk! You're no better than I am." Miroku exclaims a bit annoyed.</p><p>Sesshomaru taps the ashes off his cigarette as the ashes fall behind the couch.</p><p>"At least I pay my whores."</p><p>"Well aren't you generous." Miroku mocks.</p><p>Sesshomaru shrugs his shoulders.</p><p>"They provide a service so I pay for said service. Nothing more."</p><p>Miroku veers forward and stands to his feet, the two women stand up with him and cling to his arms.</p><p>"I'll talk to you later, Perfect Assassin. I'm going to be a very busy man tonight." </p><p>The women with their rosy cheeks giggle as they, along with Miroku, leave the private room to Sesshomaru.</p><p>Sesshomaru continues smoking his cigarette with the smoke spreading around in the ceiling. As the smoke starts clearing, an image of Rin smiling comes to Sesshomaru's mind unexpectedly. He blinks slow with tired eyes, and reaches into his back pocket, bringing out the watch attached to its chain. He examines the gold that glistened under the dim lights before returning it to his pocket. He bends forward, smashing the butt of his cigarette in an ashtray, and breaks a smirk in the corner of his mouth.</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>Rin returns to her hotel room, dragging her feet on the carpeted floor when she enters with her heels in hand. She hunches her shoulders down from having to walk up the stairs since she missed the elevator. She drops her purse on the desk and tucks her heels away underneath. She pulls her mobile out of her purse to check her notifications--her grandmother, Kaede, had left a voicemail asking how her first day of work went.</p><p>Rin lifts a tired smile on her face.</p><p>"I'll call her back when I get out of the shower." She tells herself, laying the mobile on the freshly made bed.</p><p>She walks into the bathroom and turns on the water to a tolerable heat, and gradually undresses, allowing the clothes to fall off of her and slide down to the tiled floor. She steps inside the shower, letting the hot water wash over her curves, and relax the sore muscles under her skin. She couldn't get the look in Sesshomaru's eyes out of her mind when he walked away--she had seen that look before.</p><p>"Should I have gone with him tonight?" She thought to herself but shakes her head soon after. She knew how unprofessional it would have been to get drinks with her boss, especially after her first full day working for him.</p><p>She giggled abruptly.</p><p>"What was he thinking asking me something like that so suddenly? How silly."</p><p>She turns off the water and hops out of the shower, grabbing her satin robe, and walks to her bed falling facedown onto it. She pulls her pillow to her head and presses her face against the soft surface, exhausted from the day but manages to keep on a smile. She turns her head to the side and notices her mobile had a blinking blue light, letting her know of a new notification. She reaches for the mobile and grabs it, lighting up the blackened screen--it was a text message from Sesshomaru.</p><p>She sits up quickly and opens the message:</p><p>Thank you for the gift.<br/>
See you tomorrow.<br/>
-Sesshomaru</p><p>She smiles staring at the message.</p><p>"I'm glad he liked it." She says out loud.</p><p>She swayed off the bed, and walks to the cushioned window seat, and sits there. She props her hand under her chin, and stares out the window, looking out into the glistening lights of the city.</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>It was early the next morning, and Rin arrives wearing a simple white polyester blouse with an auburn knitted cardigan on top, and a solid black pleated skirt that reaches her knees. She walks through the entrance greeting everyone happily again with her warm smile. She walks to the elevator and enters inside when the doors open. She presses the button absentmindedly to close the doors, but a shoe steps between the doors' path, blocking them from sliding together.</p><p>Rin trails her sight up from the leather shoe to see that it was Sesshomaru, wearing black pants and a white, button-down shirt with long sleeves, holding his black suit jacket over his shoulder.</p><p>"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't realize you had arrived this early." She apologizes, nervously rubbing the side of her arm.</p><p>Sesshomaru steps inside the elevator with her and ignores her as he presses the buttons to close the doors and to the top floor. Rin steps over to the side, giving him space.</p><p>Nothing but silence between them.</p><p>Rin was beginning to grow nervous by how deafening it sounded. She looks up at him as he was staring at the lit numbers change above the door.</p><p>Rin brings her hand to her mouth and clears her throat softly.</p><p>"Nice weather we're having today isn't it?" She asks with a smile.</p><p>Sesshomaru stood there ignoring her.</p><p>She taps her fingers on her arm realizing how cliché that question was. She ponders on what to say next.</p><p>"I guess you didn't drink too much last night if you made it here this early, right?"</p><p>Sesshomaru glares down at her.</p><p>"As you can see I'm perfectly fine, Miss Hashimoto. And what happens with me outside of Inuka is none of your business."</p><p>Rin was taken by surprise by his coldness, and drops her head.</p><p>"My apologies, sir."</p><p>She was hoping that Sesshomaru was starting to warm up to her, and she wanted to get to know Sesshomaru more closely since she'll be working with him on a daily basis, but she didn't realize or suspect that he disliked small talk so strongly. She felt that she was being too casual with him too soon, and makes a mental note to herself to watch how she talked to him in the future.</p><p>The rest of the ride up was in silence.</p><p>Once they arrived at the top, Sesshomaru steps out of the elevator first and turns to Rin, telling her to come with him to his office. She swallows a knot in her throat and agrees to follow him, and stands at his office door. Sesshomaru opens the door and walks inside, grabbing a folder off his desk. He turns around and walks towards Rin, and offers her the folder. Sesshomaru informs her that he needed copies made of the new graphs that would be used for his meeting on Friday. </p><p>Rin obliged and takes the folder from his hand. She turns around swiftly and walks back to the elevator, pressing the button to close the doors. She rests the folder firmly against her chest and drops her head down. She takes a deep breath in and presses the button to descend to the tenth floor.</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>Sesshomaru had been sitting in his chair for a while, twirling an ink pen in between his fingers, when he hears a knock on his door. Jaken cracks the door open, poking his head through the door with anxious eyes.</p><p>"Ummm, Sesshomaru sir, you have guests waiting for you." Jaken announces with a nervous voice.</p><p>Sesshomaru furrows his brows together shifting his eyes towards the small man.</p><p>"I'm not expecting nor wanting any guests today, Jaken. Send them away immediately."</p><p>Jaken gulps loudly as sweat pours down his crinkled brow.</p><p>"Please reconsider, sir. These guests are determined to speak with you regarding--"</p><p>The door swings open widely, hitting the wall it was hinged on. Jaken falls forward to the floor as a woman enters, with red heels and a full black pantsuit with a red blouse under the blazer. She had short, black hair that was tied back in a small bun and bright red eyes. She stood next to the small man on the ground, looking down at him with disdain. Then she glances up, meeting her gaze with Sesshomaru's provoked glare.</p><p>"It's not nice to keep your guests waiting." The woman uttered crossing her arms, her green-beaded earrings dangling on her earlobes.</p><p>Emerging from behind the woman was a tall man with long, wavy black hair that was pulled back, and wears a black suit with a dark purple shirt under the blazer. He was smirking as he entered Sesshomaru's office.</p><p>Sesshomaru promptly stood to his feet.</p><p>"So like you to just barge in uninvited."</p><p>The man chuckles as he stood in front of Sesshomaru's desk.</p><p>"Why must you be so unpleasant to your lovely guests? The man whined with his red eyes narrowed.</p><p>Sesshomaru furrows his brows together with irritation.</p><p>"What do you want, Naraku?" Sesshomaru spits out with bitterness in his voice.</p><p>"I just wanted a little chat with you is all." Naraku clarifies, lifting his hand to signal the woman behind him.</p><p>The woman closes the door shut behind her and locks the four of them inside, standing in front of the door with her arms crossed again. Jaken sits up and remains seated on the ground, his body trembling nervously as the woman behind him glares down at the small man.</p><p>Sesshomaru sits back down in his chair silently, intently watching the man that stood in front of his desk.</p><p>Naraku grabs the white swivel chair, leaning back on it, and propping his feet onto Sesshomaru's desk.</p><p>"How have you been, dear friend?" Naraku spoke with a smirk.</p><p>Sesshomaru sits back in his chair with crossed arms, showing the agitation of his guest's presence on his brows.</p><p>"Surely you didn't come all this way just to have a friendly chat."</p><p>Naraku shrugs his shoulder.</p><p>"You got me. I did come here with something else--something that might be of value to you."</p><p>Sesshomaru wasn't amused by this.</p><p>"What could you possibly have that's of value to me?"</p><p>"Oh, just some information. Regarding the person responsible for the sudden 'illness' of your father."</p><p>Sesshomaru sneers at Naraku.</p><p>"If you're lying about such information, I'll kill you right here on the spot."</p><p>Naraku laughs maniacally, removing his feet from the desk and hunching over to hold his stomach.</p><p>"How abrasive. That's not very professional nor friendly of you, Perfect Assassin."</p><p>Sesshomaru stands to his feet swiftly and hastily walks over to Naraku, grabbing him by his collar and lifting him out of the swivel chair.</p><p>"My patience is running real thin with you, Onigumo." </p><p>The whites of Sesshomaru's eyes turn red as his irises turn into a dark blue color.</p><p>Naraku grins devilishly, immersing in the negativity emitting off of Sesshomaru.</p><p>"Do you want this information or not?"</p><p>Sesshomaru growls as his eyes return to their normal appearance, letting go of Naraku's collar. Naraku adjusts himself and brushes off his suit jacket.</p><p>"You know what I want in exchange." Naraku grins, sitting back down into the swivel chair.</p><p>Sesshomaru knits his brows tightly together, clenching his hand into a fist at his side. He returns to his chair and sits down, propping his elbows onto the desk, and scowls at Naraku.</p><p>"Make your offer."</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>Rin sighs softly when the printer completes making the last of the copies Sesshomaru had sent her for. She collects and piles the pages neatly in her arms, and walks back to the elevator to return to the top floor.</p><p>On the ride up, she thinks back on what Jaken had said about Sesshomaru and how he had 'behaved' with the other PAs hired before her. She was beginning to have doubts if the true intentions of her employment were not because she met the qualifications to be a personal assistant on paper.</p><p>"He doesn't see me that way, does he?" Rin asks herself with a frown pulling down her face. She tries to brush the thought away because she is willing to give Sesshomaru the benefit of the doubt.</p><p>The elevator dings when it reaches her destination. Rin starts taking a step forward before the elevator doors began to even open. But when the doors slide open, she's startled by a tall man standing on the other side with an intense stare.</p><p>"Move out of the way." The man spoke harshly towards her.</p><p>Rin is stun for a moment but moves to the side of the elevator to let the man inside. She shifts her body sideways to try and squeeze herself out of the elevator, however, she almost runs into a woman that was walking behind the man.</p><p>"Watch where you're going!" The woman shouted.</p><p>The woman knocks down the pile of papers in Rin's hands, causing the pages to fall and spread across the foyer floor. Rin drops to her knees in disbelief, staring at the mess she'll have to pick up.</p><p>"Stupid girl." The woman grins as the elevator doors close in on herself and the man inside.</p><p>Rin begins picking up the papers one by one and shifting the papers around neatly in her arms as to not crinkle the pages. As she collected a few, someone walks to her, kneels, and begins picking up the papers with her.</p><p>She glance up and is surprised to see that Sesshomaru was helping her. Rin's heart was starting to beat rapidly and she figured the people she encountered just now were his guests so she comes up with a lie about what had happened.</p><p>"I guess I should have worn better shoes today. I'm such a klutz."</p><p>Sesshomaru was silent for a moment as he was picking up the papers.</p><p>"I saw what happened." He uttered softly.</p><p>Rin turns her head away, feeling guilty that he caught her in a lie.</p><p>"I'm sorry." She apologized.</p><p>"You don't need to apologize. They were unwelcomed guests, to begin with." Sesshomaru explained as he continued picking up the papers.</p><p>Rin stops for a moment and perks her head up with curiosity.</p><p>"Can I ask what happened?"</p><p>Sesshomaru doesn't look at her.</p><p>"They just wanted to chat."</p><p>Rin nods her head, not persisting any further but still had her questions and concerns. Rin was looking around and notices one lonely paper that had fallen towards the couches and she reaches for it. When she touches the paper, she's met with Sesshomaru's hand on the same paper, and her hand grazes his softly. She pulls her hand away quickly and immediately apologizes again, hiding the pink hue on her cheeks. Rin stands to her feet with the papers she collected and hands them over to Sesshomaru when he stood up with the rest in his hands.</p><p>"Thank you." Rin spoke softly, but didn't make eye contact with him.</p><p>She turns away and walks towards her office. Sesshomaru watches her through the glass wall as she stops and stands in front of the window, looking out. Sesshomaru sighs under his breath and returns to his office with the neat stack of papers. Rin turns around when she hears his office door close. She exhales harshly and grabs the back of her chair, plopping down, and buries her head in her arms on her desk. She groans when she looks up to see the clock on her desk, showing that it just struck on the eleventh hour.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. A New Friend</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The day was going by quietly, and Sesshomaru stood in front of his office windows with his arms folded across his chest, looking down at the tiny, moving specks in the streets below. He was lost in thought and stays like this for a while until he hears a knock at his door which breaks his daze. The door creaks open and Jaken announces himself as he steps inside Sesshomaru's office and closes the door behind him.</p><p>Jaken couldn't hide his troubled face from what had transpired earlier that day. He was worried immensely about the true intentions of Naraku's visit.</p><p>Sesshomaru could sense the anxious energy seeping off of Jaken. He didn't need to turn around to know the little man's expression, and he knew what he was wanting to say.</p><p>"You won't be able to stop me for going along with his request." Sesshomaru spoke strongly.</p><p>Jaken twirls his index fingers around anxiously.</p><p>"I know, but..."</p><p>Sesshomaru stood in silence.</p><p>Jaken straightens his posture with his arms straight and firm to his side.</p><p>"I have served you for many years, Sesshomaru, and yet you still won't heed my concerns?"</p><p>Sesshomaru turns around to face Jaken, unfolding his arms, and placing his hands on his waist.</p><p>"I gave him my word, Jaken. If he upholds his end, I'll uphold mine."</p><p>Jaken relaxes his shoulders and slightly leans forward.</p><p>"And you're very honorable in that regard, sir, but shouldn't you be more cautious of other members after what Miroku warned you?"</p><p>Sesshomaru blinks slowly.</p><p>"I have my suspicions that Naraku could indeed be the traitor."</p><p>Jaken straightens up again and drops his jaw in disbelief.</p><p>"You--you do!? Then why did you agree to his demand to find--"</p><p>Sesshomaru lifts his hand to interrupt Jaken from speaking any further.</p><p>"It's part of my plan, Jaken. Now leave."</p><p>"Y-yes, sir." Jaken complied with a whimper.</p><p>As the little man turns to walk away, Sesshomaru calls out to him to wait a moment. Jaken turns back to him, returning his attention.</p><p>"No one must know who was here today. Not even Inuyasha must know."</p><p>Jaken nods his head in agreement, making a zipping motion on his lips.</p><p>Rin repeatedly taps her ink pen against a pile of papers that were laying on her desk as she was filling out paperwork. She makes occasional glances up at the digital clock to keep track of when the end of the day was approaching--five minutes remained. She sighs softly and stops tapping her pen.</p><p>"Who were those strange people from today?" She thought to herself. </p><p>She couldn't get the image of the man and woman's eyes out of her mind, especially the way the man's red eyes pierced her soul with fear. She didn't have a good feeling about either of them and hoped whatever they were here for didn't jeopardize Sesshomaru or Inuka Co.</p><p>Rin props her hand under her chin and looks out the window, seeing the sky show a tint of orange as the sun began to set behind the buildings. She hears Sesshomaru's office door open and she perks her head up to only see Jaken stepping out. The little man looks in her direction with a smile, and waves at her as he walked towards the elevator.</p><p>Once the clock buzzes bringing in the hour, it was now time to leave. She turns off her computer, grabs her bag, and steadily walks towards the elevator. She was only a few steps away when she notices that Sesshomaru had not yet walked out of his office. She turns her heels around and walks towards his office, stopping in front of the door. She takes in a deep breath and reaches for the doorknob and turns it. </p><p>She cracks open the door and peeks her head inside, seeing Sesshomaru standing at the windows.</p><p>Rin stood still for a moment to see if Sesshomaru noticed her, but he doesn't react. She opens the door as far as her arm would stretch out, and she remains standing at the door.</p><p>"Sir, it's the end of the day now. Will you be leaving?" Rin asks curiously.</p><p>Sesshomaru looks over his shoulder to her with an unlit cigarette placed on his lips. He turns away from her to ignite his cigarette, looking out the window again, blowing smoke out of his mouth.</p><p>"I'll be here for a little while longer. Go on home, Miss Hashimoto."</p><p>Rin nods her head and slowly closes the door. She leans her back against the door and places her hand on her chest, feeling an irritating, dull tightness.</p><p>"Why am I feeling this way?" She whispers to herself.</p><p>She pauses for a moment and takes in a deep breath to make her way towards the elevator. When she approaches, she gets startled by the doors suddenly sliding open, and finds a man standing on the other side with his hands in his pockets. The man had long, thick silver hair that was tied back in a ponytail with two thick strands of hair that framed his face. He was wearing a black ball cap, a red causal button-down shirt, and dark denim jeans.</p><p>Rin noticed his eyes the most; he had the same golden-yellow eyes as Sesshomaru.</p><p>"Umm, excuse me?" The man says to her.</p><p>Rin snaps out of her stare and apologizes to him, stepping to the side to let the man walk on through. He walks by her and she quickly steps inside the elevator, watching the man walk toward Sesshomaru's office. Rin stood inside the metal box for a moment, unsure if she needed to stay or not. She quickly presses the button to close the doors and descends to the lobby, alone.</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>In Sesshomaru's office, the man enters and stands at the door, tucking his hands back inside his pockets. Sesshomaru continued to stare out the window, blowing out smoke from his mouth.</p><p>"Did you come all this way just to visit your older brother, Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru asks with curiosity and a hint of flattery in his voice.</p><p>Inuyasha moves away from the door and stops in front of the desk.</p><p>"I was just in the neighbor and decided to drop by."</p><p>Sesshomaru turns to the side with his cigarette held towards the window.</p><p>"Is that right?"</p><p>Inuyasha was silent as Sesshomaru flicks his cigarette out the window. Sesshomaru turns to his brother with his arms folded across his chest.</p><p>"So what did you really come here for?"</p><p>Inuyasha grabs the back of the white swivel chair near him and sits down on it. Sesshomaru smirks and takes a seat in his chair.</p><p>The brothers stare at each other in silence, showing the tension in their eyes.</p><p>Inuyasha breaks his stare by dropping his head and removing the ball cap on his head that was hiding the silver, triangular canine ears that twitched in freedom, but then droops down with the concern showing on his face.</p><p>"Father's getting worse, Sesshomaru." He began, resting his forearms on his knees.</p><p>Sesshomaru remains silent, shifting his eyes up to the ceiling as he leans back against his chair.</p><p>"I know." He spoke softly.</p><p>"Mother said that she and auntie have tried everything to cure him, but nothing seems to help..." Inuyasha tightens his hands into fists, "they don't know what else to do."</p><p>Sesshomaru ponders for a moment before he spoke.</p><p>"Have they considered something that treats poison?"</p><p>Inuyasha's eyes widen at the implication.</p><p>"Are you saying that Father is being poisoned?"</p><p>Sesshomaru returns his stern gaze to Inuyasha.</p><p>"It's highly possible and explains the progression of Father's illness. And I have information on who might be behind it."</p><p>Inuyasha quickly stands to his feet, causing the swivel chair to fall backward.</p><p>"Then spit it out! Tell me their name and I'll rip them to shreds!" Inuyasha shouts bearing his claws.</p><p>Sesshomaru furrows his eyes at his little brother's outburst.</p><p>"Settle down, it's not going to be easy to prove." Sesshomaru explains calmly.</p><p>Inuyasha rolls his hand into a fist, piercing the palm of his hand.</p><p>"So what? If you know who's responsible, let me take care of 'em! I don't care who it is!"</p><p>Sesshomaru sighs harshly.</p><p>"You're still so arrogant, Inuyasha. This person is very powerful, and if we make a move too soon, we'll lose more than just our lives."</p><p>Inuyasha groans, folding his arms across his chest, listening to Sesshomaru as he continues.</p><p>"As the eldest son and next Head of the Clan, you have to play by my rules, little brother."</p><p>"Yeah, whatever. I'll just find them myself then." Inuyasha scoffed, turning his back to his older brother and walks to the door. He stops and looks back to Sesshomaru with softened eyes, "There's going to be a dinner on Friday at Father's place. Your mother would like for you to be there."</p><p>Sesshomaru sat silently in his chair, watching Inuyasha step out of the room. He turns the chair to the side to see out the windows as the sky turns into a swirl of yellow and orange.</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>Rin was walking down the crowded street trying to decided what she wanted to eat for dinner. She couldn't decide whether she wanted to go to the restaurant in the hotel or pick up takeout on the way.</p><p>The wind picks up suddenly and she tucks a loose hair behind her ear. She notices the hand that touched Sesshomaru's by accident, and she smiles. It wasn't much of a touch, but she felt strange energy coming off of him. She didn't know what to make of it but knew that something was different about him. She started feeling a slight flutter in her stomach thinking about the softness of his skin.</p><p>She was caught off guard when she unexpectedly felt someone graze against her shoulder, moving quickly by her. Rin turns her head to see their face, but their head and face were mostly covered by a white hoodie, and she couldn't make out their figure by the loose clothing they wore. Rin tried getting their attention, but they ran away from her without a word.</p><p>Rin was puzzled by this and stopped walking. She didn't know if this person was in trouble, or if they were the trouble. Her mind quickly changes when she hears rushing footsteps approaching behind her. She turns around and sees an unfortunate, familiar face running towards her that she had wished to forget--it was the red-eyed woman she encountered earlier today.</p><p>"Move out of the way!" The woman shouts, throwing her hand against Rin's shoulder, and pushes her to the side.</p><p>Rin loses her balance and falls to the ground, hitting her shoulder and back against a red post box. The woman continues running past her as two other women try to catch up, panting to catch their breaths behind her.</p><p>"Dammit Kagura, hold up or we'll lose the target!" Exclaims the woman with grey hair and blue eyes, and a small golden snakehead tattooed on her forehead. They seemed to be chasing someone, but Rin never got a good look at who as they all vanished into the crowd.</p><p>Rin slowly pushes herself to her knees and feels a wave of pain against her head. Now she was angered at how awful that woman was, having no regard for the people around her. Rin could hear more footsteps rushing towards her, but they stop suddenly.</p><p>"Are you okay?" Says a woman's voice beside her.</p><p>Rin rubs her head and looks to see that someone was now kneeling next to her. She blinks slowly and stares at a young woman who Rin assumed was only a little bit older than her.</p><p>"Yes, I'm fine." Rin answers softly.</p><p>The woman reaches her hand out and offers it to Rin. She takes her hand and is supported back up to her feet, brushing off any dirt that could have gotten on her clothes.</p><p>"Thank you for helping me." Rin spoke with gratitude.</p><p>The woman smiles kindly.</p><p>"You're welcome. I saw what happened. People can be so terrible for no reason sometimes."</p><p>Rin nods her head in agreement and then drops her head with a frown on her face.</p><p>"What's wrong? Did you get hurt?" The woman asks with a concerned tone.</p><p>Rin shakes her head.</p><p>"No, I'm just having an off day is all."</p><p>The woman suddenly takes Rin's hand, which surprises her, and the woman looks at her with a bright smile.</p><p>"Would you feel better if I treated you to some coffee? Or tea even?" The woman asks with sparkles in her eyes.</p><p>Rin blushes and chuckles nervously.</p><p>"That's very nice of you, but you don't have to do that for me. And besides, I don't even know your name."</p><p>The woman releases Rin's hands and rubs the back of her head with a soft giggle.</p><p>"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Kagome Higurashi. What's your name?"</p><p>Rin blinks confusingly but smiles kindly.</p><p>"My name is Rin Hashimoto."</p><p>Kagome offers her hand to Rin again with a friendly smile.</p><p>"Nice to meet you, Rin. There, see, now we're not strangers anymore."</p><p>Both of them smile and giggle at each other softly. Rin accepts her offer and takes Kagome's hand, and starts walking towards the Blue Bottle Coffee café that was nearby. </p><p>They enter the café and waited in line to order their drinks and possibly some pastries Kagome decided to get. They find themselves at a table with their order and began casually talking and giggling for a while, happily enjoying each other's company.</p><p>Rin takes a sip of her tea, and Kagome watches her quietly and then looks down and stares inside her coffee in thought. She then turns her head towards Rin with curiosity.</p><p>"Say Rin, do you have any plans for Friday night?"</p><p>Rin blinks slowly and ponders for a moment.</p><p>"No, I'm free that night. Why do you ask?"</p><p>"Well, my husband's family is hosting a dinner at his Father's estate on Friday. And I was wondering if you would like to come?"</p><p>Rin was hesitant and waves her hands defensively.</p><p>"Oh, I don't think I should intrude on something like that."</p><p>Kagome smiles, shaking her head.</p><p>"You won't be, don't worry. I'll make sure you're taken care of cause I'll be there."</p><p>Kagome takes Rin's hand softly into hers.</p><p>"Please, it'll be fun."</p><p>Rin pondered on Kagome's offer. It had been so long since she had gone out anywhere, and having met this kind woman and getting to know her, she felt like she was a friend now, and wanted to spend more time with her.</p><p>"Okay, I'll go with you." Rin answers with a smile.</p><p>Kagome cheers.</p><p>"Excellent! Let's exchange numbers so I can send you an invite."</p><p>The two women exchange mobile numbers and finish their drinks and time together. They walk out of the cafe with warm smiles on their faces.</p><p>"Thank you for being so kind, Kagome." Rin spoke with her bright smile.</p><p>Kagome returns her smile.</p><p>"You're welcome, Rin. I'll see you on Friday, okay?"</p><p>Rin agrees and waves goodbye to Kagome as she was walking away from her, heading towards the hotel. </p><p>Kagome returns her wave as she starts walking away in the other direction. While walking, Kagome was receiving a call on her mobile, and she grabs it and answers it with a cheerful tone.</p><p>"How did the talk with big brother go?" Kagome asks curiously.</p><p>She heard a man groan on the other end of the mobile.</p><p>"It went a little more than expected, but he seemed calmer today than when I talked to him yesterday." The man whined.</p><p>Kagome narrows her eyes with annoyance. </p><p>"Well, you were yelling at him yesterday, Inuyasha."</p><p>"Yeah yeah, whatever. Anyway, I told him about the dinner on Friday." Inuyasha informs her.</p><p>"Well, did he say he would come?" Kagome asks sternly.</p><p>"All I needed to do was tell him about it, right? And that's what I did."</p><p>Kagome groans slapping her hand on her forehead.</p><p>"You should have made sure that he agreed to come though. He needs to."</p><p>"Yeah well, you know him, he only cares about himself, and does what he wants." Inuyasha replied.</p><p>Kagome drops her head with a frown.</p><p>"I know, but he needs to be with his family..." An idea suddenly comes to her mind which causes her frown to disappear, "maybe, he needs to meet someone."</p><p>"What do you mean meet someone?" Inuyasha asks with confusion.</p><p>Kagome chuckles nervously but hides it in her smile.</p><p>"Well, there's this woman I meant today, and she's--"</p><p>Inuyasha bursts out in laughter on the other end.</p><p>"That's the last thing Sesshomaru needs is dealing with a woman!"</p><p>Kagome pouts with annoyance.</p><p>"You're so rude, Inuyasha!" She pauses for a moment to take in a deep breath before she continued calmly, "I think she'll be good for Sesshomaru. I don't know how, but I just have a strong feeling about it."</p><p>"Yeah sure, whatever you say, Kagome."</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>Rin returns to her hotel room with takeout food in a recyclable bag and places it on the desk. She takes off her knitted cardigan and throws it over the desk chair. She stretches her arms over her head, feeling some tenderness on the shoulder she slammed against the post box. She rubs on her shoulder gently to loosen up the muscle, but to no avail.</p><p>"I'm definitely going to need that hot shower after dinner." She says to herself with a tired sigh.</p><p>Her mobile suddenly starts ringing and Rin looks inside her bag to see that her grandmother was calling her. She grabs the mobile and places the mobile to her ear.</p><p>"Hey, Granny Kaede. I was just about to call you." Rin answers sweetly.</p><p>"My my, how lovely we thought of each other at the same time." The old woman spoke softly on the other end.</p><p>Rin was thrilled to hear her grandmother's gentle voice after the day she had.</p><p>"I've been missing you lately."</p><p>Kaede chuckles softly on the other end.</p><p>"I've missed you too, dear."</p><p>It was quiet between the two of them for a moment until Kaede spoke suddenly.</p><p>"So how was work today, Rin? Are you beginning to understand the office life yet?" Kaede asks curiously.</p><p>Rin pauses for a moment and smiles.</p><p>"Well, honestly, most of today had been a little rough. But I made a new friend, and have plans with them for Friday night."</p><p>"Oh how wonderful, Rin. I hope you have a good time and enjoy yourself."</p><p>Rin smiles and tells her grandmother that she needs to eat dinner and go to bed soon. Kaede says her evening blessings and both say their goodbyes and end their call. Rin gently places her mobile on her desk and grabs the bag her dinner was in. She pulls out a bento box that had rice curry inside. She kicks off her shoes, and climbs onto the bed with her dinner, salivating at the savory aroma of the beef and spices.</p><p>"Tomorrow will be a better day." She says to herself with a smile. She whispers itadakimasu and enjoys her dinner and the rest of her evening.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you guys so much for reading this mediocre fanfic! It means so much to me and I love you all 😭💕</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Not Up To Expectations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The warm rays of the sun stream through the gaps of the window curtain, gently waking Rin from her peaceful slumber. She blinks slowly, finding comfort in the soft pillow that was resting her head. She rises and stretches her arms over her head with a yawn. Her left shoulder flinches, pressing her alternate hand on the sore spot and massaging it gently. Rin drags her legs over to the side of the bed, her toes touching the carpeted floor. She stands to her feet with another yawn and begins to prepare herself for the new day ahead of her.</p><p>She steps into the bathroom and stands in front of the marble sink to turn on the faucet. When she looks into the reflection in the mirror, she notices a dark spot along her forearm. She bends her arm at the elbow and lifts it towards her chest. She examines the purple and blue bruising that was sore to the touch.</p><p>"How did this get here?" She thought out loud.</p><p>She then recalled the fall that occurred yesterday evening when her arm caught herself on the sidewalk and her shoulder slamming against the metal post box, inflicted by that malicious woman Rin encountered not only once, but twice in the same day. Rin didn't want to be seen walking around showing the mark around.</p><p>After stepping out of the bathroom, she pulls out her suitcase from under the bed and sweeps inside to find a pastel pink shirt with lantern-sleeves that had small detailing of sakura flowers embroidered on the fabric. She pulls out the garnet-colored skirt and starts dressing in the pieces. She grabs her white scrunchie and ties her hair back, leaving loose strains dangling around her ears. Slipping into her shoes, she grabs her satchel and walks out the door to make her way through the hotel and down into the street.</p><p>For the past two days, she would take a taxi on the five-minute drive to the InuKa Co building two streets over, but she decided today she wanted to spend an extra ten minutes on a leisurely walk to work. She smiles looking up at the sunny, cloudless sky. She was determined to make today a better day, or so she had hoped.</p><p>Rin arrives walking through the entrance of Inuka Co, making her way through the lobby and greeting the same people the same way as the days prior. They've begun to slowly accept her smiles and some have started returning theirs with a wave.</p><p>"Good morning, Miss Hashimoto." someone says to her with a friendly smile.</p><p>"Good morning!" Rin smiles warmly.</p><p>She goes to the cafe to surprise Sesshomaru with a cup of his coffee in hand. She waits in line for a little while until she was able to order and receives the drink quickly. She makes her way towards the elevator and waits for the box to descend. She hears the ding as the doors slide open for her and she steps inside. With a smile on her face, she waits and watches the floor numbers increase little by little until the elevator dings upon her destination. The doors slide open again and she walks to the glass walls where her office resided. She lets her satchel slide off her shoulder and drops it onto the desk, then she turns her heels to deliver the coffee she retrieved for Sesshomaru.</p><p>She was inches away from knocking on the door when she hears an unfamiliar voice inside. She stood there quietly pressing her ear against the door. She noticed that the voice was moving closer and she was able to catch some of what they were saying, "...make sure to watch your back while you're there, Perfect Assassin. See you in two weeks."</p><p>The doorknob suddenly turns on its own which causes Rin to freeze in place and quickly becomes startled when the door swings open, revealing someone on the other side. There before her, stood a man wearing an all-white suit with a grey-blue long tie. He had tan skin, dark cobalt eyes, and long ebony hair that was braided down his back.</p><p>"Excuse me, miss." The man spoke politely, he seemed too friendly she felt.</p><p>Rin nods her head anxiously and moves to the side to let the man walk by. The man kept his eyes on her as he walked, only breaking his gaze for a moment when he approaches the elevator to step inside. He returns his stare with a more devious smirk in the corner of his mouth until the doors finally close him in.</p><p>Rin felt uneasy about the man's stare and had hoped to not encounter him again. She shakes her head and steps inside Sesshomaru's office, seeming to be arranging a stack of something and placing a large yellow envelope on top of them. He glares up at Rin, which she didn't notice at first until she got closer to his desk.</p><p>"Good Morning, sir. I brought you a--"</p><p>She stops when she sees a fresh cup already sitting on his coaster. He picks up the coffee on his desk and takes a sip. Rin holds the cup in her hands towards her, feeling embarrassed. Sesshomaru twists his chair around towards the windows with his drink in hand.</p><p>"Was you needing something from me, Miss Hashimoto?" He utters from behind the chair.</p><p>"N-no, sir." Rin replied with downcast eyes.</p><p>"Then get to work." Sesshomaru spoke coldly.</p><p>She complies and quickly turns leaving his office, quietly closing the door behind her. Sesshomaru slowly turns his chair to see if she was gone. Once he sees that he is alone, he lets out a soft sigh. He returns the coffee on his desk and reaches over the large yellow envelope and reveals a surveillance photograph underneath of Touran in a beige trenchcoat walking in the streets.<br/>
-</p><p>-</p><p>-<br/>
Rin was sitting on her desk typing on her keyboard, returning business emails. She was making occasional glances over at the coffee cup she placed on the side table next to her. Sadly she doesn't like coffee all that much, so the coffee sat and got cold. She hears a door open and she perks her head up to see that Sesshomaru had stepped out and was heading straight towards the elevator. He presses the button for the doors to open and he steps inside. </p><p>Once the doors close, Rin had a few thoughts that struck her mind. Sesshomaru has had some strange characters come in and out of his office within the past few days.</p><p>First, the man and woman from yesterday, and now a strange man in all white. Also, the thing the man said today before he walked out of Sesshomaru's office was bothering her. </p><p>What did that man mean by "Perfect Assassin"? What's happening in two weeks? And what kind of papers was Sesshomaru looking at?</p><p>Rin stands up from her chair and turns on her heels to walk toward Sesshomaru's office with haste. She turns the unlocked doorknob, and slowly pushes the door open, inspecting the room to make sure no one was inside. She knew she was breaking protocol, but she convinced herself that she had enough concern to look around, and to make sure everything was okay with her boss. She closes the door behind her quietly and scans her eyes around the room. </p><p>Not much has changed since the first time she's been in his office. She didn't expect it to change drastically or much at all with the kind of man she figured Sesshomaru to be. He often kept things to himself. She steps closer to his desk and notices an unlabeled yellow envelope laying on the side of the desk. She picks it up and examines the outside of the envelope first. </p><p>No name, no address. Just blank.</p><p>"Was this what he was looking at this morning?" she pondered to herself.</p><p>She couldn't resist the curiosity that was festering in her, she just had to know what was inside. She lifts open the top of the envelope, swallowing the knot stuck in her throat, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to see. All she managed to see was the corner of the photograph when she hears a growl behind her. She freezes, holding her breath, and looks over her shoulder to see a very... Very angered Sesshomaru behind her. </p><p>His eyes were fixated on her, narrowed and his pupils thinly slit, and brows tightly knitted together. His arms were crossed over his chest as his fingertips tap the side of his arm in a repetitive motion.</p><p>Rin slowly re-seals the envelope and gently lays it back down on the desk where she found it and she whirls around to face him, her pupils dilated with panic, expecting a harsh scolding from the man that towered over her.</p><p>"Get out. Now." Sesshomaru pierced through his teeth with an eerie calmness, but in a low, commanding tone that strikes fear into those who were weak.</p><p>Rin shuts her eyes and dashes around him, heading towards the door, and quickly closing it behind her. She leans her back against the door as she pants heavily, releasing the breath she held in for so long. She felt the blood rushing to her chest as her heart began pounding rapidly. </p><p>What she did was unacceptable. Guilt was beginning to dwell in her, but she would have to wait before she could give a proper apology to Sesshomaru. For she didn't want to make things worse by forcing her hand again. She slowly makes her way back to her desk when Jaken approaches her with a bounce to his step.</p><p>"Hello, Miss Hashimoto." He smiled with a wave.</p><p>Rin gives him a half-smile and a small wave, but a frown grew on her face as she turned away to return to her office, plopping down on her chair. Jaken was confused by her unusual behavior and brushed it off for the time being.</p><p>Jaken knocks on Sesshomaru's door and peeks his head inside, announcing himself cheerfully before he entered. Sesshomaru was standing in front of the windows looking out. He glances over his shoulder with anger continuing to burn in his eyes. Jaken becomes anxious and chuckles nervously.</p><p>"Is right now a bad time for you, sir?" The little man asks, rubbing the top of his bald head.</p><p>"Very." Was all Sesshomaru uttered, and Jaken took the hint and stepped back slowly and closes the door quietly. Jaken turns around and sighs loudly as he looks over towards Rin's office, seeing the poor girl with her head buried in her arms on her desk.</p><p>"I guess today just isn't a good day for either one of you, huh?" Jaken expressed to himself. He makes his way back towards the elevator and steps inside when the metal doors slide open.<br/>
-</p><p>-</p><p>-<br/>
A few hours go by, Rin has barely made any new progress in completing her work tasks ever since she was caught red-handed lurking in Sesshomaru's office. She was fearing the worst waiting to be allowed back in so she could formally apologize to him. She didn't know if that would make her situation better, but she felt she would eventually feel better about herself than how she did currently. She sighs harshly as she buries her head in her arms again. She shifts her head towards the window and watched a sparrow fly by.</p><p>She sits up in her chair and stands to her feet to walk over to the window to see that the sky was still clear of clouds and the sun continued to be bright. A smile returns to her as she was starting to feel somewhat better, all until she hears the intercom in her desk phone go off-- it was Sesshomaru's voice that speaks out of it.</p><p>"Step into my office immediately, Miss Hashimoto."</p><p>The time had come.</p><p>She walks over to the door and places a hand to her chest, feeling her heart go a hundred miles an hour it seemed. She inhales softly and holds it in for three seconds. Then she releases with a harsh sigh. She places her hand on the doorknob and turns it. She looks in the office to see Sesshomaru leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed and arms crossed over his chest. </p><p>He had the chair shifted slightly to the side, facing away from the door. Rin steps in a closes the door behind her. He doesn't open his eyes as she walks towards his desk, stopping at a small distance. They stood in silence for a moment until Rin finally speaks up with a soft voice at first, but goes quiet soon after with her failed attempt. She forms a small fist in her hand and stands up straight and bends forward at her hips.</p><p>"Mr. Taisho, sir. Regarding what happened earlier I would like to--"</p><p>Sesshomaru lifts his hand to interrupt her.</p><p>"I didn't call you in here solely for that."</p><p>Rin lifts her head with a slight tilt, now obviously perplexed as she stands up straight.</p><p>He turns the chair to face her, he opens his eyes with a coldness that could almost chill the room.</p><p>"You're not up to my expectations as a personal assistant for me, or Inuka Co, Miss Hashimoto." He spoke harshly, not making eye contact with her.</p><p>Rin stands frozen in place and finds herself unable to speak as her heart drops into her stomach.</p><p>Sesshomaru took a moment before he continued, "I should fire you here on the spot with how poorly I've found your performance to be thus far."</p><p>She drops her head low as her shoulders and arms go limp to her sides.</p><p>Sesshomaru plants his elbows firmly on his deal as he sternly looks at her, observing her. He props his hands under his chin.</p><p>"But I wouldn't want to taint your reputation before you even have one."</p><p>Rin lifts her head as her eyelashes flutter.</p><p>Sesshomaru stares at her intently, "I'm giving you a choice; you can pack up your things and leave, never to return here. Or, you can stay to prove me wrong but endure any hardships that come your way."</p><p>Rin stood silently with doe eyes.</p><p>Sesshomaru stands to his feet, resting his hands on his desk, "I'll allow you to leave early today so you can think over on your decision, Miss Hashimoto."</p><p>Rin forms a fist to her side and turns around and walks out of his office, not saying a single word more to him.</p><p>Sesshomaru breaths out harshly and turns to the windows, staring at the slowly setting sun.</p><p>Rin steps into her office, grabbing her satchel, and storms towards the elevator. When the doors slide open, Jaken was inside and was startled by the look on the young woman's dismayed face.</p><p>"Where are you headed to so soon?" He asks her curiously, but deep down, he had an idea of what happened.</p><p>"I've been sent home for the remainder of the day. It would seem I'm not a good fit here after all." Rin utters softly. </p><p>Jaken steps out quickly as the woman dashes in and presses the button to close the doors, shutting herself in. She paused for a moment and drops her head down breathing out as she covers her face with her hands. She stood inside the box silently as it slowly descends to the lobby. She shakes her head and holds her head up high as she stepped out briskly heading out the entrance doors of Inuka Co. If she were to leave, she wanted to keep what dignity she had left.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I FINALLY updated the newest chapter!! So sorry it took soo long 😭 hopefully now I'll be more consistent with updating at LEAST once a week, maybe twice depending how much more I get done. Hope you enjoyed the update and stick around for more twists and turns 🙏🏻</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Not So Easily</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Moments go by as a knock occurs on Sesshomaru's door. It opens slowly as Jaken peeks his head inside. He looks around and sees his silver-haired boss focused on something on his desk with a crinkled brow.</p><p>"Sir?" Jaken spoke up nervously.</p><p>Sesshomaru shifts his golden glance through his brow, watching Jaken walk in and shut the door behind him. Sesshomaru assembles what he had scattered on his desk and stacks them in a pile. When Jaken ambles closer, the little man catches a glimpse of several surveillance photographs of women of the night in their daytime attire.</p><p>"Why do you have these, sir?" Jaken asks with concern in his voice, resting his hands on the desk.</p><p>Jaken knew of one particular woman with light blue hair and was aware of the 'services' she provides. Sesshomaru sets a yellow envelope over the photographs and folds his hands together with his elbows propped up on the desk.</p><p>"Touran hasn't been seen since she left my place a few nights ago." He asserted sternly.</p><p>Jaken crosses his arms over his chest with an arched brow.</p><p>"Why be concerned with the disappearance of a prostitute?" The little man spoke with indifference.</p><p>Sesshomaru narrows his eyes as they pierce Jaken, sending chills down the little man's spine which causes him to shiver.</p><p>"Women from The Underground have also been reported missing since yesterday." Sesshomaru went on as he crosses his arms over his chest.</p><p>Jaken's jaw drops at the information, making the relation.</p><p>"Do you think someone will try to pin you for these disappearances?"</p><p>Sesshomaru shakes his head left then right slowly.</p><p>"They would be fools to pin this on me. But I'm sure it won't be long before someone decides to drop the cases or target someone to put the blame."</p><p>"Well, you do have a payroll with the authorities and all," Jaken notes, stroking his chin, "but this is still worrisome."</p><p>Sesshomaru nods and stands to his feet, tucking the photographs back inside the envelope and hands them to Jaken for safekeeping.</p><p>"These need to stay hidden." Sesshomaru orders with a small smirk appearing in the corner of his mouth, "A curious cat almost got herself killed over these."</p><p>Jaken tilts his head by the statement, "A cat? Do you mean Miss Hashimoto?"</p><p>Sesshomaru waves his hand to permit Jaken to leave. The little man complies and walks out of the office with the envelope to his chest, and closes the door behind him. Once alone again, Sesshomaru saunters towards the windows with his arms behind his back. He was silent for a moment as he drops his gaze down to the streets below.</p><p>"I hope she makes the right decision and stays away from me."<br/>-</p><p>-</p><p>-<br/>Rin exits the hotel elevator and gradually makes her way down the hall to her room. She digs around in her satchel for the door key and inserts the card to unlock it. She kicks off her shoes and drags her feet through the floor, falling forward onto the bed. Her arms stretched out to the side, and her face buried in the mattress. She stays like this for a few minutes until she hears a buzzing coming from inside her bag. She shifts her head to the side slow and reaches for the strap of her bag to bring it closer to her.</p><p>She finds and stares at the lit-up screen of her mobile--she was receiving an incoming call from Kaede. Rin watched the mobile ring until the call was missed. She lays the mobile face down and buries her head back into the mattress. She hated feeling this way, and she knew sulking wouldn't help her feel any better. She rolls over to her side and takes a deep breath in, and slowly blows air out of her mouth. </p><p>Rin closes her eyes for a moment, getting lost in her thoughts of what she should do--she knew doing nothing wasn't going to help her. She needed to talk to someone. She grabs her mobile again and scrolls through her contacts, tapping on the name "Kagome". The mobile rings twice until a woman's voice is heard on the other end.</p><p>"Hey, Rin! How are you today?" Kagome greets cheerfully.</p><p>Rin was quiet with her face dragged down with a frown.</p><p>"Honestly, not that great." Rin replied.</p><p>"I'm sorry to hear that." Kagome expressed sincerely, "Do you want to talk about it?"</p><p>"I just need to do something to keep my mind off of it for a while." Rin spoke softly, followed by a soft sigh.</p><p>Kagome ponders in thought for a moment until an idea strikes her.</p><p>"Say Rin, let's go out into the city and do something!"</p><p>"Wait, are you still in Tokyo?" Rin asks her with a high pitch in her voice. Kagome had mentioned the other day that she doesn't live in the city so Rin tilts her head with confusion.</p><p>Kagome smiles and utters an "mhmm" over the mobile.</p><p>"I won't be returning home until the dinner tomorrow night." Kagome explained.</p><p>"Ooh." Rin mutters under her breath.</p><p>A grin appears on Kagome's face.</p><p>"It's settled then. We're meeting up somewhere." She declared.</p><p>"Where are you wanting to go?" Rin asks her curiously.</p><p>"I'll send you the location, okay?" Kagome replied as she informs Rin that she would see her soon and ends the call.</p><p>Rin peels herself off from the mattress and slips her shoes back on her feet, grabbing her satchel, and heads back out the door.<br/>-</p><p>-</p><p>-<br/>Down in the streets, Rin was waiting outside of the building where she would be meeting Kagome. A few minutes go by, Rin hears somebody call out to her in the distance, and when she turns around looking out into the crowd, she sees Kagome walking towards her with a smile and a wave. Rin returns a smile and wave as Kagome approaches her excitedly.</p><p>"So, why bring us here, Kagome?" Rin asks.</p><p>She was going to get straight to the point and was wondered why Kagome brought her there. They were standing in front of a very elaborate clothing store--worth more than what Rin could ever afford.</p><p>Kagome links her arm around Rin's as she leads her inside together.</p><p>"We are going to find you something to wear for the dinner tomorrow night." Kagome reveals with a smile, "You're still going, right?"</p><p>Rin was hesitant to answer because she had almost completely forgotten about it and she also assumed the dinner was going to be something more casual than formal, which was now making her nervous.</p><p>"Y-yeah, I'm going." Rin stuttered.</p><p>Kagome giggles excitedly and walks towards a clothing rack of dresses.</p><p>"Don't worry about the prices of anything, I'll be taking care of it!" Kagome assures Rin to try and ease her obvious hesitation.</p><p>"Oh no, you don't have to do that Kagome! These pieces are very expensive." Rin raises her hands defensively.</p><p>"That doesn't matter to me. Plus, I want to do this for you, Rin." Kagome grabs a few dresses off the rack in front of them and walks over to a different one. She would ask Rin what colors, materials, and styles she liked the most as Kagome picked out the pieces. Grabbing a few more and they make their way to the fitting rooms towards the back of the store. A store clerk quickly assists them and escorts them to the fitting rooms.</p><p>Inside the large room, Kagome had Rin try on every single dress she had picked out for her. Some were much too revealing to Rin's liking, while others just didn't flatter her figure. After trying on a red, floor-length dress, Rin releases a heavy sigh, pressing her back against the wall, and drops her head low. Rin slides her back down along the wall until she's stopped by the tile floor below her.</p><p>Kagome squats down low beside Rin with her knees to her chest.</p><p>"Are you ready to talk about it?" Kagome asks the young woman kindly with a warm smile, "It's okay if you're not. I'll be right here when you're ready."</p><p>Rin took a moment and pulls her knees to her chest. She inhales softly and breaths out gently before she began.</p><p>"It's just... I thought things were finally starting to look up for me by getting this amazing job here in Tokyo. And I figured things were only going to get easier and better from there..."</p><p>She paused and dropped her head before she continued, "After my first few days, my boss seemed to of started to finally warm up to me, but... Today he threatened to fire me."</p><p>"Wow, what a jerk!" Kagome exclaimed with her jaw dropped open and her brows knitted together.</p><p>Rin shakes her head and continues, "I don't blame him. I made a mistake and I probably broke his trust in me..."</p><p>Kagome's eyes soften and grew concerned for Rin.</p><p>"He allowed me a choice that I'll need to decide soon..." Rin expressed burying her face in her knees.</p><p>Kagome huffs and pushes herself to her feet, standing in front of Rin who remained sitting on the floor. Rin looks up at Kagome and sees a fire burning in her eyes.</p><p>"Now listen here, Rin." Kagome began with her hands on her hips, "You walk yourself back there tomorrow morning with your head held high, and tell that boss of yours that he's not getting rid of you so easily, understand? And tell him to stop being such a major jerk to you!"</p><p>"That last part is a bit too aggressive to come from me though." Rin chuckles nervously.</p><p>"Well, you don't have to say that word-for-word, but I'm sure you get the idea of what I mean." Kagome winks at Rin with a smile, "Prove that asshole wrong, Rin!"</p><p>Rin giggles and smiles with a slight head nod.</p><p>"Thank you, Kagome."</p><p>Kagome reaches her hand out to Rin to help her up to her feet. Then she lifts a black dress from the rack that had white lace around the shoulders and shows Rin.</p><p>"Now, how about we try this one on now?"</p><p>Rin giggles with a smile and nods her head in agreement as the two women continued their shopping excursion.<br/>-</p><p>-</p><p>-<br/>The sun was setting as a sleek black car arrives at a three-story home in Aoyama, Shinjuku--one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Tokyo. The car pulls into the garage area made onto the side of the home and is brought to a slow stop and parks. Once the car shuts off, the driver door swings open and Sesshomaru steps out, pressing the button on the keyless entry remote to lock the car as he walks away.</p><p>He walks up to the front door, unlocks it, and steps inside, closing and locking the door behind him. He slips off his shoes and steps up the raised platform in the entryway, walking by the dining room table and the grey couch in the living room. He makes his way up the stairs that lead to his bedroom, walking down to the end of the hall, and opens his door, walking inside. He tosses his suit jacket onto the back of an upholstered chair and steps out the glass door that leads onto his balcony. He feels around his pockets for his cigarettes, but in doing so, he found something else.</p><p>He pulls a chain out of his back pocket with the gold watch attached to it. He lays it in the palm of his hand and observes the watch, tracing the engraved lines along the rim of the watch with his finger before snapping out of his gaze and returns the watch. He continued to search for his cigarettes until he retrieves the pack and places one unlit on his lips. He lights it up and intakes slowly, blowing a cloud of smoke out of his mouth. </p><p>He rests his forearms against the metal railing, standing there passing an empty stare looking down into the streets below him. The loneliness was far from new to him, though some discomfort has been digging at him for a few days, and it was beginning to irritate him. Especially seeing the expression that was on Rin's face earlier in the day.</p><p>"What has brought this on I wonder?" He asks himself aloud.</p><p>He lifts his head to look out over the skyline to watch the change in colors as the sun began disappearing. He takes in a long drag and flicks the cigarette over the balcony, retrohaling a cloud of smoke as he returns inside.<br/>-</p><p>-</p><p>-<br/>It was early the next day, Sesshomaru steps out of the elevator on the top floor of Inuka Co, and walks through the foyer to his office. He stops halfway and glances over to the glass wall to Rin's office where he found that she wasn't there. He shortly resumes and steps inside his office, leaning against the closed door, and lets out a deep sigh.</p><p>"I suppose she made her choice."</p><p>Sesshomaru throws his suit jacket on top of his desk and drops down into his chair, turning it towards the window. He pulls out the cigarettes from his pocket and places one unlit on his lips. He shifts around to look for his lighter but feels the circular object in his back pocket again. He pulls out the gold pocket watch that Rin gifted him. He holds it and stares at it with the metal glistened in the sunlight. He places the watch gently on his desk, and locates the lighter in his pocket, igniting the cigarette.</p><p>He hears a knock at his door and it opens shortly after, assuming it was Jaken bringing in Rin's resignation letter.</p><p>"Sorry, I meant to be here sooner. There was a long line at the cafe today." Says a woman's voice.</p><p>Sesshomaru turns the chair around instantly after hearing the unexpected voice and glances up to see Rin with a cup of coffee in her hands. His eyes widened with surprise and curiosity seeing the woman before him.</p><p>"You're still here?" He utters softly.</p><p>Rin looks at him with a smile.</p><p>"You wasn't expecting me to give up so easily, did you, sir?"</p><p>Sesshomaru pauses for a moment, breaking eye contact with her, blowing out a cloud of smoke from his mouth.</p><p>"I suppose I did underestimate you, Miss Hashimoto."</p><p>Rin places the cup on the coaster on his desk.</p><p>"Need anything else while I'm here?" She asks him sweetly.</p><p>Rin had this glow to her that Sesshomaru couldn't understand. He wondered if she wasn't truly bothered by his words toward her yesterday. After all, he did it purposely.</p><p>"Not at the moment, but thank you." He spoke returning his golden gaze to her.</p><p>She gives him a soft nod and turns around leaving his office, closing the door behind her.</p><p>Sesshomaru blinks slowly with a soft smirk.</p><p>"You're going to stay after all, huh?" He snuffs out his cigarette in the ashtray on his desk, and grabs the cup of coffee, "If only you realized what you'll be getting yourself into, Rin."</p><p>He feels a buzzing in his other back pocket and pulls out his mobile. The screen lights up with a text message, it read:</p><p>Hey, Big Brother!<br/>Call me when you get the chance. I need to ask you something important.<br/>-Kagome</p><p>"She needs to stop calling me that." He groaned as he shuts off the screen and tucks the mobile back into his pocket.</p><p>Later on in the day, Sesshomaru returns to the top floor with an unamused expression washed over his face as he steps out of the elevator. He had just finished the long meeting with his Board of Directors of Inuka Co. He veers by Rin's office, standing at the doorway as he watched her typing on the keyboard.</p><p>Rin notices him and turns to him with a smile.</p><p>"How did the meeting go, sir?" She asks him kindly.</p><p>"It was nothing special, just went over some numbers and such." He replied disinterestedly with his arms crosses over his chest.</p><p>Rin giggles softly and smiles as she turns back to the computer monitor. Sesshomaru found it strange that Rin was still so optimistic and seemed to be smiling more than she usually does. He was curious to know why.</p><p>"You seem extra cheerful today." He remarked.</p><p>Rin turns to him again, keeping her smile.</p><p>"Oh, I'm just excited for tonight." She explained softly.</p><p>"I see. You have plans?" He asks curiously.</p><p>Rin tilts her head down, breaking eye contact with Sesshomaru. </p><p>"Yes. I'm meeting someone for dinner tonight."</p><p>"That's nice..."</p><p>Sesshomaru makes a long pause before he spoke again, "I hope it goes well for you."</p><p>Rin looks up at him with a smile.</p><p>"I'm sure it will, but thank you, sir."</p><p>She returns to typing on her keyboard and Sesshomaru walks away towards his office, glancing back at Rin before he stepped inside and closed the door. Rin looked over to the door because she had a sense that eyes were on her while she wasn't looking. She shrugs her shoulders and returns to work.<br/>-</p><p>-</p><p>-<br/>Rin watched the clock ticking closer and closer. She was starting to become impatient that five o'clock wasn't approaching fast enough. She needed to hurry and get to the elevator so she wouldn't lose any more time to get ready for the dinner with Kagome tonight.</p><p>Once the clock finally dinged, Rin hops out of her chair and begins dashing towards the elevator. When she approached the doors, she discovered that she had forgotten her bag and groans with annoyance. She quickly shifts around on her heels to run back to her office, not realizing that Sesshomaru was directly behind her now, and runs into him, colliding onto his chest. Rin is stunned and looks up at him with her cheeks turning red.</p><p>"I'm so sorry." She uttered as she quickly removed herself and breaks her gaze from him.</p><p>Sesshomaru appeared more confused than mad at Rin's hastily behavior.</p><p>"Are you in a hurry?" He asks.</p><p>Rin shakes her head slowly, with her hands in small fists against her chest.</p><p>"Just forgot my satchel."</p><p>Sesshomaru steps to the side to let her walk by, swaying his arm out as to direct her.</p><p>"I'll keep the elevator up for you." He assured her.</p><p>Rin glances up at him with a soft smile, tucking a hair behind her ear.</p><p>"Thank you." She replied softly.</p><p>She walks by him to return to her office and grabs her satchel. She walks back slowly to the elevator where Sesshomaru, as promised, kept the doors open for her. She steps inside with him without saying anything, and Sesshomaru presses the button to go down to the lobby.</p><p>On the ride down, Sesshomaru looks down at Rin and notices that her head was rather low as if she was hiding her face. Sesshomaru tilts and leans his head to the side and asks Rin if she was nervous.</p><p>"Something like that." She spoke.</p><p>Sesshomaru was silent for a moment before he spoke again, clearing his throat.</p><p>"I need to apologize to you, Miss Hashimoto."</p><p>Rin snaps her head up and looks at him with curiosity. </p><p>"For what, sir?" She asks.</p><p>Sesshomaru looks down at her and the tone of his eyes were sincere.</p><p>"The way I spoke to you yesterday. It was uncalled for and I shouldn't have behaved so poorly." He elaborated.</p><p>Rin smiles and shakes her head.</p><p>"You don't have to apologize for that. I knew better and should have minded my own business."</p><p>It fell silent between them.</p><p>Sesshomaru breaks his gaze and looks up at the floor numbers decreasing.</p><p>"Don't be afraid to talk or ask me things."</p><p>Rin tilts her head in confusion, she wasn't expecting him to say something so off-handed, especially after yesterday. Sesshomaru returned his golden gaze and Rin saw the softness in his eyes. He was being genuine and it gave her a light feeling in her stomach.</p><p>Rin blushes and looks away with a soft nod. </p><p>"Okay, Mr. Taisho."</p><p>Both Rin and Sesshomaru were silent the rest of the ride down to the lobby. Rin was trying to hide her smile, but Sesshomaru could see it and he had a strange, warm feeling in his chest that he wasn't used to.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry if this chapter seemed boring. The next two chapters are about THE DINNER, so stay tuned for that!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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